1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gravure engraving system and more particularly to a system for automatically supplying and discharging a gravure cylinder to or from a gravure cylinder engraving machine.
2. Description of Related Art
A gravure cylinder will serve as a printing plate and has a surface to be engraved by a gravure engraving machine. The gravure engraving machine is arranged such that, using a diamond bite or stylus, concave points (cells) are formed in the circumferential surface of a gravure cylinder under rotation. The basic arrangement of the gravure engraving machine is discussed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,382, U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,829 and European Unexamined Patent Publication No. 0,595,324 A1 which is a counterpart of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/143,552, the entire disclosure of which United States patents and application are incorporated herein by reference.
Conventionally, a gravure cylinder is to be mounted on a gravure engraving machine by raising the same manually or with a crane. Also, an engraved gravure cylinder is removed from the gravure engraving machine while the same is being raised manually or with a crane.
Accordingly, continuously engraving each of a plurality of gravure cylinders requires many hands for mounting and dismounting such a cylinder on and from a gravure engraving machine.